This invention relates to the field of laminated cards and, in particular, to assemblies for making laminated identification cards.
Modern society has found innumerable uses for laminated cards. Perhaps billions of such cards have been made for use as conference name tags, personal identification cards, gift tags, parking passes, playing cards, and so on. Other types of laminated cards include adhesive index tabs and hanging file folder tabs. Indeed, nearly everyone has a laminated card of some sort.
In the not so distant past, simple laminated cards such as club membership cards were made by hand. A secretary would typically insert a card into a typewriter and would type in relevant information such as the member""s name and date of admission. After the member had signed the card, the secretary would place the card on a sheet of transparent plastic for forming the lamination assembly. The secretary would then fold the lamination over the card, press the lamination down to seal the card within the lamination, and cut the lamination about the card to remove any excess.
In the 1980""s, dot matrix printers came into widespread use. Laminated card assemblies were developed for dot matrix printers to simplify the process of making a laminated card. A typical dot matrix laminated card assembly had tractor feed holes running along either side of the assembly so that it could be fed through the dot matrix printer. A lamination sheet was attached to a card on one side and had a thin backing on the other side. The dot matrix printer would print information on the back of the card, after which the secretary would remove the card from the printer, remove the backing from the lamination, and fold the lamination over the card. The secretary would then cut off the tractor feed holes with scissors, or tear off the strip of holes if perforation lines were provided for that purpose.
FIG. 1 shows a prior art assembly 20 for printing cards in a dot matrix or other type of printer equipped with a tractor feed mechanism. Prior art assembly 20 includes tractor feed strips 22 having tractor feed apertures 24. Tractor feed strips 22 are removable from assembly 20 at lines of perforation 26. The front of the assembly 20 has a layer of lamination 28 which is coated with a pressure sensitive adhesive 30.
FIG. 2 illustrates the back side of the prior art assembly 20 of FIG. 1. FIG. 2 shows a piece of lining material 32 being removed from adhesively backed lamination layer 28. The right hand side of the assembly of FIG. 2 is a card 34 having a printable surface 36. Generally speaking, the assembly is fed through a tractor feed printer, which prints indicia 38 onto printing surface 36. This indicia 38 may include personalized information such as a country club member""s name, membership number, and so on. After the assembly has passed through the printer, the user may then sign the card 34, remove liner 32 from lamination layer 28, remove tractor feed strips 22, and fold lamination 28 over at line 40 to cover and adhere to card 34. The user then has a laminated membership card that she or he may carry with him.
In the 1990""s, laser printers and ink jet printers replaced dot matrix printers as the printers of choice. Such printers are capable of printing high resolution text and graphics at a high speed with very little noise. Unfortunately, the old tractor feed laminated card assemblies did not work well in laser printers and ink jet printers and photocopiers. There are a number of problems with using the prior art assembly of FIGS. 1 and 2 in a modern day laser printer, ink jet printer, or photocopier. The left hand side 29 of assembly 20 has a thickness that is less than that of right hand side 31. Consequently, there is a sudden thickness change at line 40. This inconsistent thickness will tend to cause jamming in a laser printer, ink jet printer, or photocopier. The friction feed of these types of printers has difficulty grasping hold of such a varying thickness assembly. Additionally, tractor feed apertures 24 will both interfere with the friction feed of these printers as well as provide an opportunity for assembly 20 to become snagged in the interior of the printer. Consequently, the prior art assembly of FIGS. 1 and 2 is inappropriate for use in the types of printers that are most common in offices today.
Thus, there has been a very substantial need to develop an assembly for conveniently printing laminated cards in a laser printer, ink jet printer, photocopier or other printer requiring a substantially flat printing surface.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an assembly for making laminated cards using a laser printer, ink jet printer or photocopier. It is also an object to provide an assembly having substantially constant thickness and flat upper and lower surfaces so that the assembly will not jam in the complex paper path of laser or ink jet printers, or photographic copiers. It is a further object of the invention to provide an assembly which can yield laminated identification cards.
Accordingly, the present invention relates to a longitudinally extending assembly for creating a display card and a laminated identification card which are suitable for printing on with a laser or ink jet printer, or photocopier. The assembly includes a display card-forming section extending along part of the length of the assembly and an identification card-forming section attached to the display card-forming section and extending along part of the length of the assembly. The identification card-forming section includes a first backing sheet which includes opposed first and second sides and contains an identification card backing region separable from the first backing sheet defined by opposite top and bottom edges joined by opposite side edges within the first backing sheet where the second side is suitable for being printed on. The identification card-forming section further includes a first adhesive layer, a first release layer joined to the first side of the first backing sheet and to the first adhesive layer except at the identification card backing region where there is an opening in the first release layer, and a transparent lamination sheet. The transparent lamination sheet has a first side, joined to the first adhesive layer. The transparent lamination sheet includes an identification card back covering portion aligned with the opening and an identification card front covering portion adjacent to and substantially similar in size to the identification card back covering portion. The identification card front and back covering portions are separable from the transparent lamination sheet and joined at a location substantially aligned with a side edge of the identification card backing region. The laminated identification card is formed by separating the identification card backing region and the identification card front and back covering portions from the assembly, folding the identification card front covering portion over the second side of the identification card backing region, and joining the identification card front covering portion to the identification card backing region with the adhesive layer.
Another aspect of the invention relates to a longitudinally extending assembly having a width and a length for creating laminated cards for printing by a laser printer, ink jet printer, or photocopier. The assembly includes a display card-forming section extending along part of the length of the assembly and an identification card-forming section attached to the display card-forming section and extending along part of the length of the assembly. The identification card-forming section includes a longitudinally extending backing sheet which has a first side and a second side suitable for receiving printing. The backing sheet may also be die cut to provide at least one opening with a card having an extent which completely fills the opening and which is removably positioned in the opening. A lamination sheet is adhesively adhered to a first portion of the first side of the backing sheet. The lamination sheet may also be die cut to provide a removable lamination strip which adheres to and covers one surface of the card and which is also removably adhered to the backing sheet in the area adjacent to the opening. The assembly has a substantially constant thickness across the entire width and length of the assembly to prevent jamming in the laser or ink jet printer.
The backing sheet may have certain areas which have a release coating for convenience in peeling back a portion of the transparent plastic laminating sheet. Alternatively, the backing sheet may be coated across its entire width and length with a release coating. Additionally, the assembly is preferably no more than fifteen mils thick, to prevent jamming in a complex printer sheet feed path. Permanent pressure sensitive adhesive may be employed to secure the cards to and within the lamination. Further, the laminating plastic preferably has an area slightly more than twice that of the card, so that it may cover both sides of the card and seal around the edges thereof.
Another aspect of the invention relates to a method for creating a laminated card from a longitudinally extending assembly. The assembly includes a display card-forming section extending along part of the length of the assembly and an identification card-forming section attached to the display card-forming section and extending along part of the length of the assembly. The identification card-forming section includes a first backing sheet having opposed first and second sides and containing an identification card backing region separable from the first backing sheet. The identification card-forming section is defined by opposite top and bottom edges joined by opposite side edges within the first backing sheet. The second side is suitable for being printed on. This section also includes a first adhesive layer, a first release layer joined to the first side of the first backing sheet and to the first adhesive layer except at the identification card backing region where there is an opening in the first release layer, and a transparent lamination sheet. The transparent lamination sheet has a first side and is joined to the first adhesive layer. The transparent lamination sheet includes an identification card back covering portion aligned with the opening and an identification card front covering portion adjacent to and substantially similar in size to the identification card back covering portion, where the identification card front and back covering portions are separable from the transparent lamination sheet and joined at a location substantially aligned with a side edge of the identification card backing region. The method includes separating the identification card backing region and the identification card front and back covering portions from the assembly, folding the identification card front covering portion over the second side of the identification card backing region, and joining the identification card front covering portion to the identification card backing region with said adhesive layer.
The present invention also encompasses another method for creating a laminated card from an assembly. The assembly has a backing sheet, a card which has been die cut from the backing sheet and which has a printing surface, a lamination sheet adhesively adhered to the backing sheet and to the die cut card, and a lamination strip. The lamination strip has been die cut from the lamination sheet, and it adheres to the card and to the backing sheet adjacent to the die cut card. The backing sheet may have a release coating in at least some of the areas where the lamination adheres to the backing sheet. The assembly may have substantially constant thickness and substantially flat upper and lower surfaces. The method includes removing the card and the lamination strip together from the assembly, with the card being adhered on the side opposite to its printing surface of the lamination strip. The lamination strip may be folded over to cover the printing surface of the card and the lamination strip and the entire card are pressed firmly to seal the lamination strip over the card.
In accordance with various other steps that may be included in the method, the lamination strip may include a line of perforations dividing the lamination member into two symmetrical halves, and the step of folding the lamination strip over may include folding the lamination strip over at the line of perforations. The printing surface of the card is thereby covered by the lamination strip, and the line of perforations assist the user in folding the lamination strip in the proper orientation. A laser printer may perform the step of printing onto the printing surface of the card. The card may have edges, with the lamination strip extending beyond the edges of the card. The step of pressing the lamination strip and the entire card to seal the lamination strip over the card may then include pressing the lamination strip about the edges of the card to seal the lamination strip about the edges of the card.
Other objects, features and advantages will become apparent from a consideration of the following detailed description and from the accompanying drawings.